Municipal Auditing Services Begins Contingency Fee Based Audit

October 10th, 2013

The City of Alameda announced today that Municipal Auditing Services has begun its contingency fee based audit of local businesses.

A statement from city officials says that the company will locate unlicensed businesses and compel them to obtain businesses licenses, and that it will also audit existing licensees to ensure they are paying the right amount – neither too much nor too little – of tax to the city.

Action Alameda News reported previously that these sort of contingency fee based audits have come under criticism because “the contract auditor also has an incentive to close the audit to the detriment of the taxpayer.”

Additionally, Municipal Auditing Services has been the subject of complaints in the past, both within Alameda an in Southern Califronia.

Alameda officials advise that if business owners are contacted by the firm, they should respond to the firm, and not the City of Alameda.